Alienware M11X R1 Ram Upgrade Suggestions

Hello all,

I will keep it short and to the point. I've had my laptop since 2011 and I have never changed my RAM. I've noticed considerably slow loading times plus my task manager tells me I don't have much physical RAM available. At the moment, it's at 4GB and I'm getting lass than half of that at the moment (I believe). I want to make the upgrade to 2x4GB (8GB total) to notice a huge difference.

My framerate and load times have been ridiculous! It's time to make the change!

Would anyone with more advanced experience than I tell me if this is acceptable and run correctly? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231342

I've been doing lots of research everywhere and I've read Corsair and other companies' RAM doesn't work on the M11X. I've heard when users turn their laptops on with the newly installed ram, it beeps and the screen is black, meaning there are incompatibility issues.

Here are some screens for the Specs of my PC.

View attachment 118564 View attachment 118565 View attachment 118566 View attachment 118567

PS: Sorry admins for the double post, I'm looking for answers anywhere I can and as fast as possible.

(SIDE NOTE: As you can see, my NVIDIA graphics memory size is 796 MB. However, my Intel graphics card (my secondary graphics card) has 1,024 MB. Why is this? Shouldn't my primary have more? Is there a way to increase the page file through system settings to further or max it out? Someone help me if you can on this as well).

 

A quick search showed that Kingston HyperX modules work.

The graphics memory size is fixed for discrete cards, for the igpu; look in the BIOS to lower if (if possible).

See:
Kingston HyperX Impact 8GB DDR3L 1600MHz SO-DIMM Dual Channel Kit (2x 4GB) at Memory Express

(use the above for the part number and form factor So-Dimm, not Dimms).

Good luck.

 

Thank you for your fast response. Although I appreciate your suggestion, I've researched Crucial's integrity and I've come to find out it's hit or miss on what you buy from them.. I have no problem spending $80-100 for this. I've researched G-Skill and Kingston finding no bad reviews they are all automatically recognized by the PC and work perfectly. However, they don't mention Alienware M11X R1s as their system...

Would this be a bad choice?

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Laptop Memory Model F3-1600C11D-8GRSL - Newegg.com

Same specs, only with a more prestigious brand slapped on it.

 

Here, G.Skill is a hit or miss proposition. Kingston HyperX vastly superior.

The ball is in your court.

 

Unless you're buying the really cheap stuff or getting RAM for a Mac that's older than 2011, it typically doesn't matter what brand you buy. I'm currently running G.Skill in my MacBook Pro, and it works great. I've used their products in other desktops and notebooks as well. I did have one failure of a DDR2 stick several years ago, and the company replaced it quickly and with no questions asked. Crucial is the same way. I'm slightly wary of Kingston given the company's past record with some of their SSD products, but that choice is up to you.

 

I think you might also want to reinstall your OS since it's been 3 years... A defrag of your hard drive is also needed

 

Thanks alot for your opinions and I will continue to research and make a decision.

"Reinstall your OS"? Not being dry, but what good would that do? Reinstalling windows? I admit, I haven't been allowing the Windows updates here recently. Also I see that my BIOS is 4 years old. That sucks.

In addition, I've regularly been defragging so I'm good in that area.

So it's down to Kingston or G-Skill but I'm not sure which one to get. It only has recommendations for the i5/i7 Alienware Processors, I don't have that. As you can see I have the dual core U7300 and I'm afraid of incompatibility issues which may lead to a waste of money.

 

You're over thinking this. Just get any name brand RAM DDR3 and go for it. Reinstalling OS will clear up any "Windows Rot" that will make it run a lot more snappy and quick. And throw in an SSD for best performance improvement. I doubt 8GB will help much at all unless your RAM use is over 3GB. Use GPU-z to get a more accurate reading of vRAM size and usage.

 

Ok so I think I've made my decision. G.SKILL Model F3-10600CL9D-8GBSQ Laptop Memory - Newegg.com

My only worry is the fact I hear so many great reviews for alienware users about this product, however I believe they are using i5/i7 processors when mine is a dual core 2 U7300. Is this a problem?

(EDIT: so in reply to your suggestion about too much ram being used, I know 8GB is alot, but i want my machine to last another 2 years with no issues. So 4GB is what you would suggest, perhaps?)

 

2X4GB sticks should work in your AW even with the Su7300.. I remember seeing 8GB RAM working in it... 2X8GB would most likely be a problem so in that sense, doing the 2X4GB is perfect